Well Read Column by Robert Weibezahl

Most collections of literary letters are published posthumously and, more often than not, include just the one-sided narrative of a single writer. So, Here and Now: Letters, 2008-2011 is doubly notable: a three-year correspondence between two living writers—Nobel laureate J.M. Coetzee and acclaimed American novelist Paul Auster. Soon after the two men met in 2008, Coetzee proposed that...

Feature by Julie Hale

Literature lovers have cause to rejoice this holiday season, with riches aplenty in the way of new releases. Need a gift that will impress your favorite bibliophile? Here’s your cheat sheet for holiday shopping!Since its debut in 1953, The Paris Review has served as a platform for outstanding fiction. A terrific new collection pairs gems from the journal’s archives with expert...

Feature by Julie Hale

Books—especially great ones—beget other books. If you don’t believe it, check out the selections that follow. Providing new perspectives on past works, these critical studies, appreciations and fresh editions prove that classic pieces of literature are inexhaustible. Just right for the writer or devoted reader on your holiday gift list, the books below will make any...

Feature by Alison Hood

This holiday season, armchair travelers and active trekkers alike can revel in Planet Earth’s marvelous destinations with an eclectic collection of big, gorgeously photographed and finely penned travel books. From Kenya’s magical island of Lamu to the dusty expanses of the American Southwest and on to exotically mapped places that exist only in the imagination, the world, dear...

Feature by MiChelle Jones

Addressing a joint session of Congress on May 25, 1961, John F. Kennedy proposed putting a man on the moon and returning him safely to Earth by the end of the decade. This was almost science fiction at the time, but through a remarkable series of steps and the contributions of an estimated 400,000 people, the U.S. achieved that goal just under the wire. This summer marks the 40th anniversary of...

Feature by Linda M. Castellitto

Mother’s Day is coming up, and these books are great for those who want to give or receive something more exciting than a greeting card. Memoirs about unconventional moms, artistic explorations of the mother-child bond and a new take on midlife make excellent food for thought—and crafting and design guides will inspire new creativity. These books celebrate motherhood in its many...

Classic books never go out of style

Classics re-imaginedTranslator Burton Raffel gives new life to Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales. The epic poem has long been celebrated for its satiric wit and humor; together on a pilgrimage to Canterbury, 30 strangers pass the time by telling two stories apiece.Raffel is a celebrated scholar whose previous translation of Beowulf has sold more than a million copies. Retaining the...

Putting together the pictures

Summer travels to great American cities frequently involve trips to those cities' famous art museums, whether to enjoy the renowned art collections or simply to beat the heat. But as you soak up the art (and the air-conditioning), have you ever stopped to wonder how such European treasures as Italian Renaissance masterpieces, classic Impressionist works and iconic British portraits wound up in...

If these walls could talk

The princes and artists of the Italian Renaissance strove mightily to revive the glories of classical Greek and Roman culture. In one respect, they certainly hit the mark: Even the more outlandish of the Caesars had nothing on the colorful bunch of men who ascended to the papacy in those years, though most of the popes were a tad less likely to kill their relatives. From the intellectual...

Andrea Mitchell delivers the rest of the story

On . . . December 13 [2003], Alan and I were going to a holiday party at the Rumsfelds', writes NBC-TV reporter Andrea Mitchell. [There], everyone seemed especially jolly. The defense secretary was almost bouncing on his heels. The vice president [of the U. S.] and my husband huddled in a corner. George Tenet was cracking jokes. At one point, [fellow reporter] Tim Russert told the CIA director...